Even as the Biju Patnaik International Airport authorities boast of launching international air operations, a broken boundary wall lying unrepaired for more than a month now has raised eyebrows on its seriousness towards maintaining of safety and security aspects.
The authorities had blocked the wall, collapsed in the third week of June due to monsoon rains, with bamboos and tin sheets. But later, the sheets fell off as the roots of the bamboos got damaged due to rains. Now the way is open for foxes and jackals to sneak into the airfield.
According to reports, three days after the wall collapsed, a jackal was rescued from the airport and was sent to the Nandankanan zoo. In another incident on Sunday, two foxes were seen roaming around the runway while a private plane was landing. Though tried, the authorities couldn’t catch them.
It may be noted that the height of the wall that collapsed used to be quite low, and people used to gather there to see planes taking off and landing. later the authorities increased its height from six feet to 10 feet as the number of spectators increased. Because of a drain flowing by the side of the wall, the foundation of the wall became weak and subsequently the new wall collapsed in June.
However, Airport Director Sharad Kumar assured that steps would be taken to repair the wall soon.